Ethical Hacking Interview Questions and Answers by ICSS – Part II
Reading Time: 3 minutes1. What is the most effective way of identifying vulnerable network services?
Answer: The most effective way of identifying vulnerable network services is by using a vulnerability scanner to scan the network for any exploitable weaknesses. Additionally, Network administrators can use open-source tools, such as Nmap and Suricata, to search for common vulnerabilities and security misconfigurations.
2. How effective are honeypots for detecting cyber-attacks?
Answer: Honeypots are effective in detecting cyber-attacks since they are designed to imitate production systems and entice malicious actors with fake data, resulting in an otherwise hard-to-detect attack. By monitoring honeypots, cyber security experts can gain a better understanding of attacker behavior, allowing them to prepare for and mitigate future attacks.
3. How can an ethical hacker use password cracking techniques to gain access to protected systems?
Answer: An ethical hacker can use password cracking techniques, such as brute-force attacks, dictionary attacks, or rainbow tables, to gain access to protected systems. These techniques involve using automated software tools to guess possible passwords until they find the correct one. Ethical hackers should always strive to use the least intrusive methods possible and to obtain permission from the system owners before attempting a password-cracking operation.
4. How can a penetration tester identify and assess application vulnerabilities?
Answer: Penetration testers can identify and assess application vulnerabilities by performing vulnerability scans, using a web application security scanner, and manually testing web-based applications for common vulnerabilities. Additionally, they can expose existing weaknesses by exploiting any existing security flaws they discover.
5. How can a network administrator protect against malicious traffic on their network?
Answer: To protect against malicious traffic on a network, a network administrator can implement a range of measures, such as firewall configurations, antivirus software, intrusion prevention systems, network segmentation, and user authentication. Additionally, network administrators should keep their systems and software up to date, monitor network traffic for suspicious activities, and use whitelisting and blacklisting to control and monitor access to the network.
6. How can authentication and access control mechanisms be used to secure a system?
Answer: Authentication and access control mechanisms can be used to secure a system by ensuring that only authorized users can access the system. Authentication mechanisms, such as usernames and passwords, biometric scanners, token-based authentication systems, and two-factor authentication systems, ensure that user identities are verified before granting access to the system. Access control mechanisms, such as role-based access control, discretionary access control, mandatory access control, and identity-based access control, define which users are allowed to access which resources on the system.
7. What are the biggest security concerns with cloud computing?
Answer: The biggest security concerns with cloud computing are data breaches and malicious attacks, due to the lack of visibility and control and the shared nature of the cloud environment. In addition, cloud-hosted services can be subject to data corruption, weakened authentication, cloud provider lock-in, and inadequate security protocols.
8. How can an ethical hacker identify zero-day vulnerabilities?
Answer: An ethical hacker can identify zero-day vulnerabilities by testing their systems and applications for unpatched vulnerabilities. He/she can also use vulnerability scanners to scan their system and detect unpatched vulnerabilities, or use publicly available threat intelligence feeds or bug bounty programs to gather information on the latest zero-day vulnerabilities.
9. What is the most effective way of preventing phishing attacks?
Answer: The most effective way of preventing phishing attacks is to educate users about the risks of phishing scams and to implement user authentication and strong password policies. Additionally, organizations should restrict access to sensitive data and install anti-phishing software on their systems to detect and block phishing attempts.
10. What can an organization do to improve its overall security posture?
Answer: An organization can improve its overall security posture by implementing the following measures:
1) developing and implementing a comprehensive security policy,
2) creating and maintaining an inventory of their IT assets,
3) training users on security best practices,
4) maintaining up-to-date antivirus and antimalware solutions,
5) utilizing two-factor authentication,
6) limiting access to data based on user roles,
7) regularly auditing their systems, and
8) utilizing a vulnerability scanning solution.
You can also examine typical ethical hacking interview queries, such as how you go about spotting and addressing security flaws. You can also visit our blog Ethical Hacking Interview Questions and Answers by ICSS – Part I